YouTube blocks background video playback on Brave and other Browsers

Summary

Update 30/01/26 – 12:50 pm (IST): In a statement to the folks over at Android Authority, Google confirmed that they’ve tweaked the platform experience to prevent non-Premium users from accessing background playback when using browsers. Background playback is a feature intended to be exclusive for YouTube Premium members. While some non-Premium users may have previously been able to access this through mobile web browsers in certain scenarios, we have updated the experience to ensure consistency across all our platforms. Original article published on January 28, 2026, follows: It looks like YouTube has thrown a wrench into the works for a lot of mobile users who enjoy listening to videos with their screen off. Over the past few days, reports have been flooding in that the handy background video playback feature has suddenly stopped working on Samsung Internet. Judging by the reports, it seems that the problem seems to have cropped up around a week ago and has since been impacting more users. While a majority of reports are coming from Samsung Internet users, it’s not the only browser impacted. Users on Brave, Vivaldi, and even Microsoft Edge have complained about the issue. What’s happening is pretty specific. When users try to minimize the browser or turn off their screen, the audio cuts out. On Samsung devices, some users noticed a fleeting notification that said “MediaOngoingActivity” right before the media controls vanished entirely. For years, people have relied on these mobile browser workarounds to get a free taste of what YouTube Premium offers: ad-free viewing and, crucially, background audio. This sudden, simultaneous failure across multiple browsers strongly suggests a targeted change by YouTube. Samsung’s community forums and subs like r/oneui and r/youtube are becoming hubs to discuss the problem. Users have confirmed that basic troubleshooting tips, like ensuring that PiP mode and JavaScript are enabled, and also clearing the app’s cache, do not work. E...